To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed the entire object, paste this HTML in websiteTo link to this page, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed this page, paste this HTML in website

Jenny Santos was born in Los Angeles, California in 1979. Jenny and her family moved to Denver in the 1980’s. After living in different neighborhoods in Denver, the family finally settled in Globeville when she was 12 years old. As of November 2013, Jenny still lives in the Globeville neighborhood.

Description

1 audio file (48:40)

Is Part Of

Globeville and Swansea and Elyria Oral History Project

Subject

Santos, Jenny, 1979-; Globeville (Denver, Colo. : Neighborhood);

Geographic Area

Denver (Colo.)

Format-Medium

Audio; Photograph

Source

Jenny Santos talks about experiences of Mexican immigrants in Denver during the 1980’s, namely their fear of deportation. She describes life in Globeville including: the feeling of community and family, the impact of development on the residents, the activities of children in the area, Street Kids program, the lack of funding to provide infrastructure, community events, Globeville recreation center, impact of Interstate-70 on the residents, resident health issues and insurance, possible ASARCO contamination, and her community activism. She also discusses in great detail what she sees as the future of the area and the needs for a cultural shift and for future generations to become more active in the community.

Rights Contact Information

Copyright restrictions applying to use or reproduction of this image available from the Western History and Genealogy Dept., Denver Public Library, at photosales@denverlibrary.org.

Reproduction Available for Purchase

No

Full-Text

Oral History Interview with Jenny Santos
September 20, 2013
Interviewer: Cyns Nelson
Interview Transcribed by Cyns Nelson
[Interview takes place at the Valdez-Perry Branch Library in Denver, Colorado.]
00:00 CN: Today is September 20, 2013. My name is Cyns Nelson, and I’m conducting oral histories with residents from the Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea neighborhoods. This interview is part of the Denver Public Library’s “Creating Your Community” project, and the oral history will be archived with the Western History Department. So, right now I’m talking with Jenny Santos, a resident of the Globeville neighborhood.
Jenny, let’s start by you telling me your full name. Tell me when and where you were born; and then share anything that you would like about your upbringing.
JS: My name is Jenny Santos-Jenny Ann Santos. I was born in Los Angeles, California. I also refer to it as “Cali Island,” [?] because it was formerly a part of Mexico, and that’s the upbringing that we had, especially because my father-my grandfather was in the revolution. So, definitely want to put that out there, and put that into the recording.
And the story of Globeville: Globeville is an awesome place.
CN: Tell me what year you were born?
JS: I was born in 1979. So I barely made it in the seventies, the year of-oh, a lot of things were happening. A lot of social-justice issues were happening. The world was changing, as it is now, in 2013. But a lot more then, as far as people taking a stand, FOR social justice, and for liberation of all.
CN: Okay. So, when is it, then, that you came to Denver?
JS: We moved to Denver in the 1980s. In the 1980s my parents migrated from Los Angeles to-actually, from Los Angeles my mother moved to Mexico for a bit, and then back to-came here to Denver, in the ‘80s.
It was a really interesting place in the ‘80s, here in Denver, Colorado. A lot of racism; a lot of discrimination, especially for recent immigrants from Mexico. There was a lot of folks being deported. I remember a time where, if adults left their home, they were accompanied by children, so that police officers, or people from ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] would not pull them over and start asking them about their immigration status. Because people were getting deported at large numbers. Again, a lot of discrimination and racism happening in the ‘80s, at least within MY community.
CN: Where was it that you had moved to? Even the specific address, when you first came-
JS: When we first moved in, we first moved into the-I believe, the West Side. And then, from the West Side we moved to the East Side; and from the East Side we moved to the North Side. So we moved quite a bit before we landed in Globeville.
We moved into Globeville when I was 12 years old, around that time, before my first year of middle school. So, my upbringing and my background was different from folks that lived in Globeville, for the most part-being that we had moved around a lot. We were recent immigrants, in the ‘80s, here in Denver. And then just having to adapt to the new culture, the new ways. The language barrier was also an issue at times.
Nevertheless, my people-my family-still, we managed to get through those hard times and still-my mother, especially, managed to make sure that: She always emphasized the importance of our culture and the contributions that our people had given, not only to our people in Mexico, but here to this country as well. So, that strong emphasis definitely impacted me in such a big way; definitely inspired me to want to contribute to my community and to those around me.
CN: So, describe your neighborhood for me. What would you tell a person who has never been here-sights, sounds, tell me about it.
JS: Globeville is an incredible place. Globeville is a place where-we’ve gone through a lot. A lot of sound: We are next to the railroads, so you definitely hear a lot of the trains on a constant-whether it be early in the morning, in the afternoon. We also have the highway. We are really close by the Mousetrap, I-70 and I-25. When we moved there, it was already there. But, we’ve heard stories that before the highway was there, it sounded different. It WAS different.
04:40 When I moved to Globeville, there were still houses close-at least one house-close to the Platte River, right off Washington. It no longer is there. It was moved to expand the streets. Because, in order to have a “wonderful” society (said ironically), we need to remove things, and people, and displace people, and make our streets bigger. And yes, we have a wonderful society. But in the process, families get displaced; the land gets redesigned. It can be a good thing, but also it could be a harmful thing, if you see it from a different lens.
05:18 Globeville has a wonderful-it’s beautiful. When people come to Globeville-even friends that have come from other places have mentioned-you know, they feel that small, warm, town feeling. Even though we’re a small community, they get that sense again. And these are people that have traveled from all over the world. It’s awesome. We have 45th Street, where we have these beautiful lights; rec centers and a beautiful park.
Globeville is an awesome place-but there’s also a lot of industrial place. So if you’re not used to-if you have been raised to be used to living in the suburbs-Globeville probably, folks wouldn’t, it would not be easy for them to live there, being that we have a lot of factories. We have a lot of warehouses in our community. Because we don’t have SO many parks and so many trails for our children-we do have the Platte River, but that goes extended. I’m referring to inside the community, as other communities in certain suburbs or in certain places. Our children wander into the warehouses; and even though you can tell a child or a young person not to do something, they’re going to do it. It’s out of curiosity.
I’ve heard of stories of children and youth traveling to the railroads. And that’s super unsafe. And there was also a time when I was a teenager that there was someone murdering homeless people that were traveling from location to location. That wasn’t in the media; that was pretty much, if you knew about it you heard about it. And we were able to hear about it, and tell young people not to do it; but you tell a young person or child not to do it-curiosity sometimes is something that they want to explore.
So, we have a lot of warehouses, we have a lot of streets. But we also have a lot of good neighbors. We have neighbors that have been there for a long time, generations from generations. This is a good thing, because people are able to know each other. One of the things that is really lacking in Globeville is the funding to provide support programs to help communities, to help families. Being that I’ve lived in Globeville for quite some time, you get to know stories. You get to know wonderful, great stories-but you also get to know hard stories of people’s history. And with that you are able to find out the issues that people need some support in.
But Globeville is an incredible place. It continues to change; it’s a constant migrant community. People move there-from time, we talk about the history of Globeville, of how certain communities first moved in, and now those communities are moving out. And now new communities are moving in; and it’s constantly the immigrant community that is constantly cycling in and out of that place.
Us, for example, we’re Mexicanos and we’ve moved there. After years, I decided to purchase my home in Globeville, because it was close to my parents, and culturally it’s nice to be connected to your parents versus going clear across town. We live in Denver, so storms could happen at any given moment. So being around family was important for me. That’s something that is a norm in Globeville. You hear about families that live close by; you hear of families that-uncles, grandparents, nieces and nephews-they live close by, in the area.
CN: Talk about some of the cultural activities that go on in your neighborhood.
JS: The cultural activities that happen is: Every year the Orthodox festival. That’s something that happens within the community. It is provided by the Orthodox Church. We have an Orthodox church in Globeville, of all places, because that community was there for a long time. They have an annual celebration that brings in a variety of different cultures. For example, they’ve previously invited, I believe, Sabor Latino-it’s a Mexican folklore dance group. I know some of the young women that were part of a program called La Raza Youth Leadership Program that I’m in collective with, that help provide a space for young people to learn about becoming leaders, Latino leaders, and giving back to-continuing their education but also to give back.
So, some of the young women that participated in that are also a part of the group Sabor Latino, that participate in the Orthodox-of all places-festival.
10:01 And the Orthodox Festival provides a lot of different-again, a lot of cultures are brought, they sell food, they sell different things. It’s a good place, because this is an annual thing that happens in Globeville. Also, the opening and the closing of the swimming pool has been great. That’s been something, for example, this year.
It also happened last year with Street Kidz. Street Kidz is a non-profit, it’s a rec center that was taken over from the community. This was something that people in the community-such as Boogie, and such as Mark Mondragon, and others-worked with the city and county of Denver to make sure that the old Globeville recreation center was reopened. There are two rec centers: There’s the Stapleton Rec Center, and there’s the, now, Street Kidz. The Street Kidz, formerly as the Globeville Rec Center, was closed for quite some time for various issues. And the city said that they had funding issues, and so therefore they were going to close it down.
However, again, Boogie Mondragon, Mark Mondragon, and other individuals worked with the city and county of Denver and got people such as councilwoman Judy Montero to help advocate for them, to make sure that they opened up that rec center. Because it’s really important to mention, as far as when we are talking about: What does Globeville look like?
Globeville is an incredible space and extends-it’s a huge community. But it’s also divided by I-70. And I-70-if you have a child, it’s a great community, but at the same time you never exactly know what’s going to happen. As in ANY neighborhood. You could live in a very wealth-off community, or you could live in a community that’s living in poverty, you still want to make sure that your children are taken care of. So, we have the Stapleton Rec Center that’s in north Globeville; and the Street Kidz neighborhood-or, rec center, pardon me-that’s in, south of Globeville. And it’s divided. Some of the children-
CN: Divided by I-70?
JS: Correct. Divided by I-70. And some of the youth an children that live in north Globeville, they want to actually go to Street Kidz. Or, there could be some youth that live in south of Globeville that want to travel to Stapleton. And so, again, the reason that the Street Kidz Rec Center-the people struggled and fought to make sure that that rec center was opened-is because the community felt the need that the youth that lived in south Globeville, they also deserved a space.
They also deserved a space: Whether it be during the summer, during the winter, to have a safe space where they could go ahead and participate in different activities. It’s awesome. It’s awesome to have two rec centers; it’s awesome to have a park; but it’s especially incredible to have a community of volunteers that help out, that contribute, because they see the importance of contributing to our youth and our children.
CN: Talk about some specific people. You’re mentioning some names-
JS: Absolutely.
CN: --be more specific.
JS: Let me mention Antonia. Antonia is an incredible woman that lives in the community. She has contributed numerous hours, out of her own time-not necessarily because she is going to get paid, because she hasn’t got paid. This is all volunteer based; has gone to several community meetings, has attended-places, she’s gone to spaces and places to make sure that young people and children have it better off. I believe she lived in the community for quite some time, and she has-her children are already grown, and she has a grandson. But the main thing is, from the conversations that we’ve had, is: because they deserve that opportunity.
She’s one of many people. There’s also, there’s also Coach Al. Coach Al has also-these are people that have been associated with Street Kidz, or associated with Globeville Kares. They give back to the community. Coach Al has provided numerous hours with Street Kidz, helped with young people, along with Nancy and Bernadette. The list goes on and on. These are all volunteer individuals.
There has been opportunities where, for example, the board of Street Kidz, in the past, has-they have applied for grants. However, foundations have said: You’re doing an awesome job! Thank you! But we cannot provide you any funding. It’s awesome to have volunteers. Nevertheless, it’s really important to provide people the opportunity to also be able to pay their own bills as well, so that the opportunities that are there are self sustained. It’s not just all volunteer, on a volunteer base. It’s great; but nevertheless, it’s equally important, too, to invest in the individuals that are contributing their time.
15:02 Because if we live in a society where it’s all volunteer and no one’s getting compensated for the time that they’re dedicating, than it’s as though their time is not being valued. And yes, working with community, when people do it out of their own heart, and their own free will, is incredible. But I’ve been working in the community since I was 15 years old, as a volunteer. I’m 33. I’ve worked for various non-profits throughout the city. And, I’ve also seen: When you provide a person an opportunity as a volunteer, and you provide an opportunity for someone to get paid, with benefits? They are also able to provide to their families as well.
So, when we’re talking about change in the community-then why not also invest in that individual? By impacting that individual, financially-and not just financially, but with benefits as well-they are able to sustain their household, create change, contribute back to economic development. They are so many cycles of changes that could happen.
So these individuals have contributed to the community, and there are many others that are nameless but are there-that are there, investing their time, are committed. Those are the individuals that I applaud. And I’m really thankful that they’re there and contributing to the children.
CN: Um. So, we’ve talked about a FEW of the physical structures: The Orthodox Church, I-70. What other buildings or physical structures come to mind when you think about Globeville?
JS: Definitely 45th Street. 45th Street is where the-I was mentioning that we have lights. It’s like an old town feeling. We have different lights down 45th Street. I also think of: I DEFINITELY think of Argo Park. Argo Park is where a lot of folks have-often they congregate, whether it be during the summer, and their children are swimming, or they themselves are swimming at the park.
The swimming pool has gone through some changes. I remember when I used to work for this program, and we used to work with children at the time-they were elementary-school aged youth, or children-and they wanted to have the swimming pool expanded. After years, to be able to hear their dream, see their pictures, and then see that the swimming pool got expanded was IN-credible.
We also have a lot of industrial area. There’s an area-if you’re coming off Park Avenue, which is by Coors Field, or 38th Ave, 38th, there’s a street called Globeville Road. And that Globeville Road turns into-it seems like a snake road, before you get into the industrial. And then you eventually get into the community. So that’s one form of entry through Globeville. But Globeville is so huge, that people were to think it’s only within the communities where the houses are at-but it actually extends a lot further, if you actually see it on the map. It’s a huge community.
The Platte River is nearby Globeville. Now there’s , like, McDonalds that we have; Conoco; we have 7-11 [convenience store], Pizza Hut. But also to know that these corporations, for the most part, probably get subsidized-or they get some support-for moving into communities that are, from what I’ve, from my understanding, is: Corporations get some monies because they move into low-income communities. It’s great to have a McDonalds, but at the same time-the Pizza Hut-it’s not healthy. We don’t have a supermarket. We don’t have a place where we can eat healthy foods. We have a community that is not that wealthy. So if you have a community that’s not that wealthy, and you have a McDonalds that’s close by, and that’s a “Dollar Menu,” and people are trying to hurry up and feed their children-that’s an option, versus an actual-like vegetables, and fruits, and HEALTHY foods. We don’t have those options in Globeville.
When we don’t have that, you also start seeing that people aren’t living healthy. And if people aren’t living healthy, than that changes the dynamics of people: the way they think, the way they live. And those are issues that are a part of Globeville, too. And we’re not even talking about the ASARCO contamination of the soil. There are some individuals that could say, “Well, just plant vegetables, and plant fruits. Everything’s going to be okay.” Well, let’s also talk about, again, the contamination of the soil and how that’s happened in our community.
19:52 I remember going-being in middle school, in Globeville, and hearing about people dying, with tumor in their heads. People could say: Well, that’s not a connection with the ASARCO and that contamination. And then other people could say different. I never grew up-before that-learning about people having cancer. And I’m not talking about adults; I’m talking about YOUTH. I’m talking about my peers that were in middle school, were dying of these things. My friends, having different illnesses, and THEY lived in Globeville all their lives. I moved in when I was 12. It’s unfortunate, but these are issues; they are hard issues that impact a community. Often, I don’t really know if they’re insured. And if they’re not insured-for the most part, if people don’t have health insurance then they’re not going to go get checked.
CN: I want to talk about the central issues. So, you’ve kind of moved us in that direction. You have mentioned contamination, and I-70. Say more-let’s start with what you know about what has transpired with contamination in your neighborhood.
JS: With the ASARCO contamination, I remember-I believe her name is Margaret Escamilla-her and her husband, and some other folks in the community, started to make some moves around that, regarding: Okay, let’s start making some change with ASARCO. ASARCO was in Globeville for a long, long, long time. And there were some communities that were close to the ASARCO. They were considered a low-housing community. So they were the-some folks call them “The Jets.” So, people lived there. I remember: We didn’t live then in Globeville, but we would pick someone up from community-someone that lived closed by, she actually was disabled, she was a disabled young woman-her and her family for church. That’s how I first learned about Globeville-and I didn’t even know the name of “Globeville.”
Going back to the ASARCO: ASARCO was really close by to homes, and after a while of struggle, people started filing some suits and started trying to make some change in regards to that. And, they won. So, eventually-I remember when WE moved in Globeville, my mother-there was a place called the Globeville Community Center-the Globeville Resource Center. It was right across the street from a school called Garden Place. And they had lines of people, gathering their-pretty much, I believe, it was their blood, or just trying to see [was] there contamination? Just to have to go through that experience? That struggle, as a child, having to go get poked, or having to-having to get them your information, just to see if you’re contaminated or not. That’s terrible. As a child, as an adult, as an elder. So I remember hearing-and I didn’t myself, never went-but I remember my mom telling my about, and seeing the long lines in that place.
Then, after a while, what happened was: Some families ending up getting monies, and they ended up going into homes-“they” referring to folks associated with ASARCO-going into homes and lifting a certain percentage of the soil and putting new soil on. Our family, when I lived my mother, she lived on the other side-north Globeville, which was closer to Garden Place. When they went to do the soil contamination test, they said that we didn’t have enough contamination, so they never ended up lifting our soil. So, it was left in that manner. However, people that lived close by-which was pretty close by-they ended up getting their soil lifted and changed. So, just even that process was interesting.
I now live closer to-I live in, it’s called “The Valley,” in Globeville, where there’s horses. And one thing I forgot to mention: There’s horses in Globeville. We actually are allowed to keep live horses in Globeville, compared to other parts of the city. There, I’ve heard and I’ve seen-and it’s pretty much low, low-but they’ve gone in and they’ve removed certain soil. Something that should have been done a long time ago, within the last year or so has been barely-they’re doing the testing, and they’re doing God knows what. So, I live close by that. So it makes me wonder: What health risk am I being jeopardized? And not being told?
CN: What about I-70? What are your thoughts on I-70?
JS: The expansion of I-70? Or the pollution that I-70 brings? What part?
25:05 I-70, when it was put into the community, a long time ago, I was told that it displaced a lot of communities. It divided the community-referring to, just specifically, Globeville. I-70 definitely divided a LOT of community, not just Globeville-Globeville, Swansea, and Elyria-but I’m just referring to Globeville. And a lot of changes have been occurring since we moved to Globeville, with the I-70. I remember as a child, hearing the adults saying: I-70 is going to be expanded, and there’s not anything we could do, because we’re the community, and politicians-the city is not going to hear us.
So, now that the years have passed by, now there’s conversations about the expansion of I-70. And, again, we want a modern society; we want a society that it’s easy to get around with. So, that requires people-and it often requires poor people-to give up things. So, they are talking about the expansion of I-70. And once that happens, it IS going to require homes that live by I-70 to be displaced. Families to be displaced, that have lived there for quite some time. So, it’s going to be an unfortunate process. But, it’s something that’s going to happen.
We live in America. In America, the history has been: Whatever the government, whatever our officials, want to happen will happen, at the cost of anybody. Regardless whether it be communities of color, whether it be poor people-it doesn’t matter. All that matters, with our government, is the expansion of our society and that things run well off. It’s unfortunate, but we still have pockets of people trying to be in the forefront and fight to make sure that they are still going to be-they’re going to be informed, and they’re going to be a part of the process. Because this has been with us, the beginning of our society, there’s always been people that have stood on the front lines, saying: Regardless whatever is coming our way, we want to make sure that our families are being protected. This is something that I’ve heard and have seen in Globeville.
Globeville is a forgotten community. We’ve seen, and I personally have seen our City Councilwoman, Judy Montero, in the forefront and has been there along with previous councilwomen. But, in the past it really hasn’t been. We haven’t had that strong dialogue. So, we’re fortunate enough to have people now advocating for us. There’s going to be some changes with the City Council line districts, so there are some changes that are going to be happening again.
It’s always funny how people say: Well, if the community cared about what was going on, they should show up. Well, it’s unfortunate when we have families that, a single-family household, that have to have two jobs, that have to take care of the family; they have to take care of the family’s needs, their economic needs. So, when folks are asked: Well, why don’t they show up? Well, why don’t you learn about what’s going on with that family before we start just making blank, just general statements. Plus, there’s a lot of different experiences that walk through Globeville.
CN: What are some of the other central issues, outside of the two that we just talked about?
JS: The, one of the issues-
CN: Positive and negative. Positive, too.
JS: A positive experience, and a positive, is that we have people like Antonia, like Coach Al, like Nancy, like Boogie, that previously was awesome and being there, always, for our young people. We have people that stand in the forefront, to make sure that they are providing programs; they are providing opportunities for young people; that they are opening the opportunity. Also, Carla-Carla and her son Anthony, providing arts. There’s been an art project: Anthony provided a-he did a huge mural on both-it’s right off I-70, and it’s off Lincoln, and it’s a huge mural. The community was there, and it was an awesome opportunity. People were just-you know, stand around, just to see how the projects was going along. Those are great opportunities that bring people together.
There’s also opportunities where people get together and they start cleaning certain sections of Globeville. And this is not because someone’s telling them; this is because it comes out of their own free will. Those are opportunities that are awesome, because it’s all hands on deck, to making sure that our community is thriving, our community looks beautiful. There is opportunities where people just, generally, from the community show up to different-whether it be associations or they just themselves want to show up to know what’s going on in our community, and how do I get this information back to the rest of my neighbors and my family members.
30:08 CN: So, look to the future and tell me what you see, or what you would like to see.
JS: Someone asked me this question yesterday. What does it look like? What’s the word on the street? And how is it going to look in the future? And I told him: We are living together; we are celebrating; our children are educated. They are not only educated by the institutions but through culture. Our elders are telling their stories, they are holding our hands, all along the process. They’re sharing stories; they are sharing songs. They are sharing songs of liberation.
We are thriving together collectively. There is not “this race,” “that race,” “this person,” “that person”; this person’s gender, or this person’s sexuality. We are ALL living together in humanity. And we are taking care of the earth; we are taking care of ourselves. Our minds, our bodies, and our spirits are in balance, and we are thriving together in Globeville, in Swansea, in Elyria, in Denver, throughout the nation and throughout the world. We’re living in harmony. That’s what’s happening.
I have ALL my heart and expectation that that’s what’s going to be happening, because I’m taking action, personally. Not only myself, but collectively with other people, to make sure that happens. It’s essential: That, if we don’t do it, the next seven generations that follow are not going to have the opportunities. AND, if we don’t do whatever’s necessary, by any means necessary, to make sure that path is clear, then we are not going to make it as a society, as humanity. But I know we are! Because that’s we’re at. We’re dancing, we’re celebrating, we’re sharing foods, language, culture. Everything you could imagine. And we’re living again in harmony.
CN: Excellent! (Laughing.) I do want-I want to hear more about what your, what your personal experiences are. What are YOU doing in your community, specifically.
JS: Right now, I’m working for Servicios de La Raza. And, Servicios de La Raza is a non-profit, we’ve been around since 1971. It was started because a group of 12 individuals saw the need that people would go to state agencies or to different parts, agencies, and they wouldn’t get the good treatment. So, they started with the base of: We’re going to provide support to our community, it’s going to be culturally and linguistically responsive. So, what I’m working now is to educate the community about the Affordable Care Act-also known as the Obamacare-and what we’re doing is, we’re trying to provide a culturally shift in regards to the importance of health insurance.
So, it’s not just-we’re focusing not only in North Denver, South Denver, we’re focusing in ALL parts. And I made sure, when I work in community, I always make sure to bring Globeville on the map. I always make sure that we talk about-are we talking to Globeville, are we talking to the community, are we reaching Garden Place, one of the elementaries there. Regardless, whatever organization I work with, I bring it back to home. Because if I don’t bring it back to home, then I didn’t do the work in the right way, how I feel it needs to be done.
So, we’re going to reach out to Garden Place Academy, to see if we can start talking to the parents about: What is the Affordable Care Act? What is the Medicaid expansion? What is Connect for Colorado? And how do these three play a part of Servicios de La Raza?
And why is it important to me? Latinos-and there’s a huge Lationo population that lives in Globeville-Latinos are the most uninsured population, along with the “Young Invincibles,” pretty much 18 through 30. So, what we’re trying to do is not just tell someone: Okay, go buy health insurance. Our first step is to educate. Educate and gain respect from the community. And trust-we want to build that trust so that people know that there is a bridge there. It’s not about us having the information; it’s about us sharing and learning from the community, learning to find out what their needs are.
So, we are going to be building a rapport with folks in Globeville, as far as Servicios de La Raza, because we are a navigator site. That means we will help people enroll for health insurance. It’s extremely important, because when we were initially talking about the history of Globeville, the health concerns. This plays, also, a part of that. We want to make sure that people HAVE health insurance, but also people know how to navigate. Anybody can get their health insurance, but if they don’t sign up to make an appointment with their doctor, if they don’t get their preventive services, then it’s just like another little papers.
So we want to make sure that-there’s this woman called Dede de Percin, from CCHI (Colorado Consumer Health Initiative), and she’s an incredible woman, and said, “There needs to be a cultural shift of why people need health insurance.” It’ s just not with the Latinos, it’s not just with the uninsured, it’s with-across America.
35:12 It’s an incredible thing that we’re doing. This is new; this has never happened before, and we’re at the forefront. We’re creating this space where we’re identifying WHY health is important; why, not just as a mother, why your children, your parents, your partner, why they’re not the only ones that are important-why you as a woman NEED to be healthy, in order to better serve your family, in order to better serve your extended community.
CN: So, healthcare and-
JS: Healthcare. I’m also working on a-there’s this program called the La Raza Youth Leadership Program. The La Raza Youth Leadership Program is a part of the La Raza Youth Leadership Institute. This Program was started about 10 years ago. I collectively started it with Michael Miera, with Olivia Martinez, and a young woman, Melissa. We all got together to identify-Latinos need to have, there needs to be a pipeline within higher education and then back to their community. So, our mission was to instill in young people to continue their education, but to give back to their community. This is 10 years ago.
We’re going on our 11th year in 2014. And this program, opportunity-this is not just for Globeville, this is for everybody. We’re talking about: There’s young people that have come from the West, from the Western Slope; there are people that have come all the way from Pueblo; there are people that have come all the way from Fort Collins, just to be a part of this program. And the reason that it’s important, is because we don’t just talk about, “Go to college.” We talk about: When you go to college, it’s going to look different; it’s going to sound different. And there’s going to be times where you, as a person of color, are going to be asked to speak for ALL people of color. And that’s going to make you feel, possibly, some kind of way. But nevertheless, stay strong and stay focused.
So, we talk about all these things. We talk about immigration; we talk about health concerns; we talk about higher education and the lack of our people continuing their education. We talk about the prison system. There’s all these issues that we talk about. But we also talk about poetry. We talk about how it’s important to maintain that poetry, and that song, and share it with your community. We also talk about the Arts-how that’s EXTREMELY important, to be able to have that connection. Because, our people have always been connected with providing, documenting our history through images. Not just stories and not just words, but through images and the importance of song.
So, we incorporate our culture within this program, so that when young people walk away, they walk away with a sense of: I have purpose. And we don’t tell them, “Okay, what is your mission? Now you’ve got to live that mission.” THEY identify that mission. We just provide them a space so that we can remind them that they are the leaders of our community, and if they don’t make it, we as a people don’t make it.
And they ALL are making it. Just working with Servicios, I was able to reconnect with a young woman that participated in the La Raza Youth Leadership Program, and now she’s graduated. She’s working in the community. So we know that OUR program is working. Young people, they may not say, “Well, I can’t give you all the specifics, but I remember this particular time. That particular message stuck with me, and it let me move forward.” And it’s important; it’s important that our young people throughout the nation, our young people in Globeville, have these opportunities, HEAR about these opportunities, so that they can thrive and they can move forward.
And they could be the ones to identify: What are changes that need to be happening? Because they are the ones that are going to move us. We’re leaving-like my mom says-I’m already leaving, you’re the one that is taking a step forward. But the reality is, I love to support young people, but as an ally, I believe that young people should be leading the efforts. And, as an adult, I should be supporting those efforts, providing spaces and resources, being that I’m an adult. And I can SHARE that with them, not necessarily that I have to tell them what to do. Because that’s not how social change happens. It happens when those directly impacted are the ones leading the efforts, and the community is providing and sustaining those supports, through supportive efforts and getting the direction from those impacted.
(Coughing.)
CN: So, what do you think defines your community-and by “community,” at this stage at least, I’m talking about your neighborhood community. What defines the neighborhood? What is enduring?
39:58 JS: To define my community is to define great people -people that, regardless of whatever their situations may look like, they move forward. They identify what resources they DO have available. And they use those resources, and they share those resources to move forward collectively as a community.
There are pockets of individuals that don’t really want to-like, they don’t really want to share, and they really don’t want to know. And that’s okay. That’s in any community. People have the right to either get involved or not get involved. But there are individuals that get involved in Globeville, and that’s not just folks that speak English. There are people that speak English, that speak Spanish, and in their own way they contribute back to their community.
It’s an incredible thing. Because, living in other communities-and now that I’ve transitioned from a teenager to an adult-being able to live in this community, for this length of time, I’ve been able to connect with a lot of individuals and hear their life experience, and be able to share my experience as well. And we’ve been able to identify things we wanted to change-and we’ve done change.
But there’s also a lot more change that needs to be done. Because the minute we stand still and we allow things to happen that are not in a positive light, then, by not creating POSITIVE change, then things stay still. And we want to make sure that we have the best for our children, for our adults, for ourselves, and also for our seniors.
CN: That about comes to the end of questions, or outlines, that I had prepared. But, is there anything else that YOU want to say about, you know, your connection to the neighborhood; people, places, your impressions. Um, ways that you have been involved? The future? Anything else that you would like to say, that you haven’t yet.
JS: I would love to say that, when I first moved into Globeville, and I started attending the school called Career Learning Academy, they required me to do some volunteer hours. It was a part of the class and the curriculum, in order for you to advance within your classes. My mom used to go to the Globeville Resource Center. Toni [sp?] Riley and Carla Padilla were a part of that, and some other elders. I decided to do my volunteer hours-it was close, I didn’t have a job, I didn’t have transportation, so therefore I went to my closest resource that I had, which was the Globeville Resource Center.
And when I went there, I met these incredible women. These women, in their own light, were incredible. They shared their stories, they shared-as WOMEN. And these weren’t just women as far as a Latina, there was also a white woman, a Latina woman, elders. And they shared their personal experiences in living as women. It wasn’t necessarily their experience in Globeville-as women, GENERALLY. That was such an empowering thing, because my life consisted of my home, going to church, going to school-that was my world. And I saw the light of my mom and being that strong force. But to be able to see other women in that light, as well, was an inspiration to me-was an inspiration especially when Toni Riley took me to different places and to different meetings, and would tell me: “You know what, they’re probably not going to like me, because of what I have to say. But it’s important. If we don’t talk for our community, then WHO WILL.”
I saw her, and I was 15 years old. I was a teenager, just going to these city meetings and representing Globeville-and not knowing that I was representing Globeville, but I was there as a youth, with this adult, and seeing how powerful, when she spoke, and how it impacted me. It left an incredible impression. And when I would go back to the Center, and I would have conversations with the elder women-they would get their boxes ready, and they would share their stories of “back in the days.” One was a Pachuca, and she had this experience, and that experience, and this boyfriend. It was similar things; and I was young, and so impressionable, but at the same time I had an idea of what I needed to do in my life. And they just provided that solid: This is what needs to be done.
Women need to be empowered, they need to be respected. We need to have a good society. We need to have a good community. So that was like, for me, a launching space, where as a teenager I could have done many other things, but instead I remembered to stay true to my own life mission and LIVE that life, and want to give back to my community. Through there, we provided service space-immediate needs like food boxes, and different things in the community. And later on I learned about social change through creating change at an institutional level; creating change at that level and empowering people in a different light.
45:02 But everything that I’ve done up to this point was because someone provided an opportunity. Someone opened the door and showed me. And it was-because, that really-that door also happened way, way before, with my mom. Because my mom was the launching; she was a point of telling me: it’s important to love your culture; it’s important to love yourself; it’s important to know who you are. Then, having that experience at the Globeville Resource Center, was IN-credible.
With the Globeville Resource Center was also able to work with children. I have never worked with children as a Program Coordinator, but Toni Riley offered me the opportunity to work through Globeville Kares. Pardon me, not Globeville Kares, G-Cool [?]. G-Cool was a program, and I worked with a man named _____ [?], and I worked with another man named Anthony. And he now is a principal at a school. And _____ [?], I really don’t know where he’s at. But they provided me different perspective, as Chicano men in our society. Not just, these are the typical roles. They said: The typical roles need to be thrown out the door; and women need to be respected; and men need to provide a space that is equally important.
So these are, like-these radical, incredible, revolutionary thoughts came into my world as a teenager. And I was able to carry that on in the work that I did. I was able to work with-I was able to work with Satilla [sp?]. Satilla is this incredible woman. She’s an artist, she’s incredible. We worked together, and provided an opportunity, with children, to talk and to see what their dreams were, and what their hopes were. As the years went by, their hopes and dreams and their pictures became reality.
So, it’s been an incredible experience, living and working in Globeville. I’ve worked elsewhere. But, again, when I worked in different communities I always made sure-okay, if we’re door-knocking these communities, and this is the world that we need to contact, what about Globeville? And it’s unfortunate, but sometimes these organizations said, “Well, that’s not a community that we’re going to target.” Well, why not? And always having to advocate was essential for me. Because, even though it wasn’t in THEIR scope, it was in my scope. It was in my world. And, we don’t have large numbers of voting. So it was extremely important. When I spoke, it wasn’t just speaking on behalf of, “Oh, I just want to make sure Globeville gets on the map.” I know the necessities because I live it firs hand. So I wanted to advocate on my behalf with these organizations, with my community.
And sometimes it worked; and sometimes the organizations were like, “Okay, why don’t you just stay quiet.” I can’t stay quiet. When you see social things that are going wrong, and you know that clearly there’s an opportunity that people could take, collectively, you have to use your voice. I’ve learned-not just by myself-I’ve learned that when you use your voice, you have to amplify it with the extension of those that are like minded, like spirit. And that’s how social change becomes not only pushed, but it becomes sustainable.
CN: Okay. Um, so I guess that about wraps it up. I want to thank you for offering to conduct this interview and share your story.
JS: Thank you, _____ [?]. Thank you, _____ [?], which means “to all our relations,” because we’re all related-somehow, some way.
48:40 [End of recording. End of interview.]

Jenny Santos was born in Los Angeles, California in 1979. Jenny and her family moved to Denver in the 1980’s. After living in different neighborhoods in Denver, the family finally settled in Globeville when she was 12 years old. As of November 2013, Jenny still lives in the Globeville neighborhood.

Description

1 audio file (48:40)

Is Part Of

Globeville and Swansea and Elyria Oral History Project

Subject

Santos, Jenny, 1979-; Globeville (Denver, Colo. : Neighborhood);

Format-Medium

Audio; Photograph

Source

Jenny Santos talks about experiences of Mexican immigrants in Denver during the 1980’s, namely their fear of deportation. She describes life in Globeville including: the feeling of community and family, the impact of development on the residents, the activities of children in the area, Street Kids program, the lack of funding to provide infrastructure, community events, Globeville recreation center, impact of Interstate-70 on the residents, resident health issues and insurance, possible ASARCO contamination, and her community activism. She also discusses in great detail what she sees as the future of the area and the needs for a cultural shift and for future generations to become more active in the community.

Rights Contact Information

Copyright restrictions applying to use or reproduction of this image available from the Western History and Genealogy Dept., Denver Public Library, at photosales@denverlibrary.org.